Hell
by Tnsnerd99
Summary: After being admitted to a hospital, Tegan Quin wakes up to zombie-ridden world. She quickly meets up with Lindsey and the rest of her friends after discovering them hiding with other people at a local police station. They are soon driven out and seek shelter out in the wild. They are soon introduced to another band of survivors and their leader, Sara Clement. They join forces, but
1. Chapter 1

**Tegan POV**

_Beep...beep...beep._

"Ugh...where am I?" I slowly open my eyes to the dim lighted setting. The walls are all white, making me feel crazy. I massage my temples, my head pounding with pain as I look up and see a white ceiling. A familiar smell made its way to my nose as I took a big whiff of my surroundings. _God dammit I'm in a hospital._ I look to my left and see a 'Get Well Soon!' card on the stand. "_Hey Teegs! I hope you wake up soon and recover quickly from your injuries, they looked pretty bad when I came over soon after they called me. Anyways, I have to leave soon for photography reasons, but I'll be back on Monday to take you home and then hopefully we can talk, I have something important to ask you. With much love, Lindsey."_ Monday? My eyes make their way to a digital clock that's hanging on the wall in front of me. It reads: Tuesday 9:32 A.M. "Well maybe she meant next Monday." I say to myself. This was nice of Lindsey. She was always looking out for me and was there when I needed her most. We met each other at a gig that I had performed at and she was there taking pictures for the city's newspaper. We've grown closer and closer as friends, only a matter of time before she asks me on a date. Lately she's been giving me hints that she wants to be more than friends, but I don't think I'm ready yet. We've been best friends for five years and you'd think I'd be ready, but I don't know. Lindsey to me is just a really good friend that I can always depend on. I don't want to be her girlfriend or anything other than her best friend, but I don't want to hurt her if she ever asked me out. Don't get me wrong, Lindsey would make a great girlfriend and anyone would be lucky to have her, but I just don't see me and her getting romantically involved.

I remember nothing from the past days. The last thing I remember is a cute waitress from a bar...a bar? I had gone out to a bar with the rest of the band to celebrate after having done a gig at a local pub where I was noticed by an agent from some big music label! He said to call him back when I had the chance...oh shit! How long have I been here? That memory is from Thursday...that was five days ago! _But still, why am I here? Oh no...the bus crash._ Our bus driver had decided to celebrate too, and that night he had lost control and drove straight into a cement wall on the highway. I looked around to see if everyone was okay and all I saw was everyone crowded around me, staring in shock. I looked at my right arm and saw it slashed all the way down the middle. Then I blacked out. _Nice move Teegs._

"Oh you've got to be kidding me..." I say, still reminded by that agent. My first and only chance at a career that I would love to pursue and I blew it! _Hehe...that's what she said. Stop it! You're in no condition for jokes!_ I lost my trail of thought as I saw a spare bed blocking entry into my room. I swung my legs to the side of the bed to get up, but was quickly pulled back by a tugging force. I looked to my arms and saw them covered in IV's. I had no struggle taking them off and let them fall to the floor. I got up from my bed and stretched. My right arm was covered up in a bunch of bandages and I was covered in a gown. I walked over to a chair with a grey duffel bag sitting on it. I opened it and quickly recognized my clothes. Lindsey must have left it here when she came over. I quickly picked a white t-shirt, running shoes, and dark skinny jeans and put them on. I wonder why it's so quiet. Now that I think about it, since I woke up I've only heard my movements and nothing else outside of my room. The thought gives me an eerie chill, so I put it aside and I head to the bathroom. I check myself in the mirror, tugging at my hair. My face looked like a train wreck, there were scars and dry blood everywhere. "That's it I'm taking a shower." I took off the clothes that I just put on and hop into the shower. I turn on the warm water and I'm instantly relaxed by it. It runs down my face and back and I start to massage my scalp. A few minutes later, I'm back in my clothes and head out the bathroom. I look at the bed blocking the door. "Whoever put it there obviously didn't want anybody disturbing me." _Or anything._ I chuckle at my comment and proceed to move it out of my way. It wasn't that heavy, mostly because of the wheels, but I like to think I did 90% of the work. I grab the door knob to turn it, and when I open it, I'm instantly hit with the smell of death.

"What the fuck?!" I whisper to myself. I grab at the collar of my t-shirt and bring it up to my nose, holding the fabric with my hand. I use my right hand to bring it back up to the door knob and open it slowly, careful not to make any noise. The hallway is poorly lit, I can barely see anything. The lights on the ceiling are broken and are hanging down with wires coming out from every angle. There's broken glass everywhere, and my mouth opens wide at the sight of blood everywhere. "What happened here?!" I rub my eyes in disbelief, trying to make sense at the scene in front of me. I take a step forward, my shoe coming into contact with glass and I wince at the sound of it crumbling under me.

I make my way down the right side of the hallway, looking for any exit signs. I see a 'Front Desk' sign and decide to head down there. I head straight for a couple of feet then make a left at a corner, coming into view with more arrows leading me to the front desk. I make a right, then a left, the front desk finally coming into view. The lobby is a huge mess, like a tornado literally swept through here. Papers are everywhere, office supplies are scattered on the floor, chairs are at either sides of the room with bodies slumped under them. I dare not take a step forward. I quickly turn around, but stop. I turn back around and see a telephone at the desk. "Yes!" I whisper-shout, conscious of the dead bodies around me. I don't know why I whisper-shouted, but I get the feeling that they can almost hear me. I tiptoe my way towards the telephone and grab it to try to call Lindsey, really anyone who would answer. I hear the phone ring four times before it goes to voicemail. I hang up and try Ted. Nope, dead end. I try every phone number I know, even this chick that I remember from a one-night stand. Suddenly, I remember Jeremy's number and dial it in quick. "Come on, come on...oh come on Jeremy pick up!" Voicemail. I notice the computer at the desk is asleep, so I wiggle the mouse to wake it back up. The screen is bombarded with headlines like, "_Zombies: The War at Home_", "_Test 30307: The Monster Behind it All_", and "_Keeping Your Family Safe_"

I slump down into the chair behind the desk. Zombies. The last thing I would expect to hit the world is a motherfucking zombie apocalypse! I sighed and stared at a double door at the end of the hallway. The door knob jiggled. No that can't be, my mind is already playing tricks on me. I hear the door knob jiggle a second time, followed by a low moan coming from behind me. I stand up shaking, not knowing what to do. I look behind me and see the bodies underneath the chairs slowly flexing their arms. A wave a terror comes over me, realization hitting me square in the face. _Of course, zombie apocalypse, so they must be zombies._ I thought to myself before deciding what to do in these types of situations. I've never experienced one, so I think I'm pretty much going to run as fast as my legs will take me. Suddenly the double doors crashed to the floor and I didn't think twice about running. I ran all the way back to my room and passed it heading the other direction from when I first came out to explore the hospital. I stopped suddenly when I reached a door that had been spray-painted black with the words "DO NOT OPEN" Reluctantly, I reached a hand out to tug at the chains keeping the door shut. Suddenly, the door was being pounded with fists coming from the other side. I flinched at the sound and it sent a jolt across my body. I wasn't going to spend another minute thinking about what was on the other side, so I turn on my heels, but stop dead in my tracks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tegan POV**

His legs were mangled, arms covered in blood and bite marks. Chunks of his body were missing and his mouth was hanging low with his head tilted to one side. His clothes were ripped, it looked like he'd been wearing a suit. I stare at him at what feels like forever. My heart is threatening to jump out of my chest at any moment. I can hear my heart pounding and I feel the sweat on my forehead slowly falling down onto my cheeks. He grabs my wrist in one swift attempt. I yelp and wince as his fingers tense around my skin, using all his strength which quickly overpowers mine. He moves his mouth towards my wrists, baring all of his disgusting yellow teeth. I quickly use my right foot to kick him away. I get him good in the stomach, and he stumbles backwards, landing on his bum. I quickly look around for anything that might kill the guy, and I quickly thank any God that's watching over me for the axe that's behind the glass casing. My elbow comes into rough contact with the glass, not caring about the blood that's already spilling from it. My hands shakily grab for the handle, and they are quickly brought down with the weight of the axe. He's already gotten up from the blow I gave him before. He growls at the sight of me with a weapon. I hesitate for a while, standing awkwardly with the axe in both my hands. I've never "killed" someone, and what makes this situation any different? I mean, this dude probably had a wife and kids waiting for him back home..._ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! He tried ripping your arm off just seconds ago and now you're getting all sympathetic for him?! You're right...I should just get it over with, I mean he's not even technically alive anymore._ And with the guilt way pass me now, I closed my eyes, raised the axe over my head and brought it down to his in one quick move. I heard the "squish" and immediately let go of the axe. I opened my eyes and was met with one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen. His head was cracked wide open, his brain spilling all over his dirty blonde hair. The blood that spilled all over his head and the floor was a dark red, almost black. I gagged at the sight, but managed to keep my fluids at bay. I looked down at my clothes and at my wrist, my t-shirt was splattered with dots of blood and my wrist was red, surely to have a bruise in the morning. I suddenly felt a sting coming from my elbow. I bring my fingers to touch it and immediately wince at the pain. "Shit." I mutter to myself.

Not too soon after that, I hear a door open behind me, the chain that was supposedly keeping the zombies away was on the floor. "Now seems like a good time to run!" I say, scrambling for the axe next to the dead zombie. I grab hold of its handle and run off the to left, my shoes squeaking against the tiled floor. I'm about to make another left when I see a hoard of zombies turning the corner. I stumble back towards the wall, my back tightly pressed against it. I'm breathing hard, my nerves having already getting the best of me. I try to even out my breathing, but it's just not working for me. "Why couldn't I wake up to the Chinese invading America?! At least they don't want my brain!" _Well...they probably would._ My humor eases me a little and I quickly look both ways before crossing the hallway. The zombies that were locked behind the door have quickly advanced down the hall, limping towards me with their arms outstretched and mouths hanging from their jaws. I quickly run to the right, turn a corner to the left, turn another corner to the left, run straight, and make my last turn to the right. I push the double doors open and step into the familiar room, the lobby. _Shit! I'm gonna end up going in circles!_ I turn back around, this time taking the left exit that I passed. I make a right, stumbling a bit from the sharp turn. I keep running straight, and that's when they caught me by surprise. My breath catches in my throat, but I instinctively smash the blade from the axe onto her head. "I hate it when other motherfuckers fucking surprise me!" I say, syncing the syllables that come out of my mouth with my blows. I kill all six, all of them lying in a pool of dark red blood. I sigh. All of the fighting has taken a toll on me. _Why can't I find the exit?!_ I've never been in this hospital before. There's too many hallways and rooms and not enough exit signs. That's when I hear the low moans coming from behind me. I start running to my right, I pass my room and stop in my tracks. I jiggle the door knob and quickly shove myself inside. I lock the door and push the spare bed towards the door. I look towards the window and see the stairs. Stairs! I hear the shuffling of feet coming closer to the door. I grab the duffel bag from the chair and put the axe in it, I sling it over my shoulder and crack open the window. I duck my head and swing over a leg. I stop and look at the door. I see the knob turn frantically and hear the thuds against it. I raise my arm in salute and look at the door. "So long suckers! Haha!" I shout, and with that I swing over the other leg and hop down onto the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tegan POV**

It seems like just yesterday that I was trapped in a hospital with a bunch of zombies...mostly because it was yesterday. Luckily I didn't meet any zombies on the way to Lindsey's house, I just saw them from afar and avoided them. At least I don't scream when I'm near them anymore. If you ask me, I kinda see them as majestic creatures...like unicorns almost. I always knew unicorns didn't exist, but it was only about a year ago that I found out they never existed at all, and I always thought they were just extinct. I wonder what the situation is like outside of town...is the President still alive? Is the CDC doing anything? How did this get so out of hand so quickly? Are all my friends still alive? I never thought I would live to see the day when zombies would roam the Earth.

I haven't found anyone that I know. I can't find or contact Lindsey, Ted or Jeremy. When I came to Lindsey's house, everything was a mess. This wasn't her home anymore, all it was now was empty space. Everything was out of place, you could tell her escape for refuge was rushed. Shoes were everywhere, her car wasn't in the driveway, her camera gone, her fridge empty (which means I have to go shopping), clothes were everywhere, furniture had been moved, and the door had been scratched at. It took me about three hours to board this place up and try to make everything look dark. I can only hope for the best, and I plan to go out later into the city, right after I go shopping though. I plan on going to the local gas station, which is about half a mile away. Of course you don't go out and expect to not run into some encounters, which is why I'm taking my trusty axe with me...and some pepper spray that I found underneath Lindsey's bed, just in case I need to use it against a human.

I went walking, smashed a couple of heads thinking "Hey, I might as well get rid of a few walkers and keep some of the community safe." The sun is out in the middle of fall and on any other normal day, today would've be a perfect day to cannonball into a pile of leaves, or go out and fly a kite. I get there in less than ten minutes and walk through the broken glass door, already alerting me of danger lurking around. The only light coming in is from the windows, and that only illuminates half of the store. There are four aisles and some arcade games by the window. I see what looks to be the store owner, on the ground laying in a pool of blood behind the bulletproof register. I keep my axe at my side and stealthily move around the aisles, filling up my grey duffel bag with bread, chips, water, soda, and a bunch of other junk food. It may not be healthy, but it is food and I'm not complaining. All of a sudden I hear glass cracking. I stand still, my blood immediately freezing up. My heart rate is increasing at an alarming rate, and I'm sweating through all my clothes. Now I may not be a doctor, but I think it might pass out. I let out a shaky breath, and move in between the aisles. I finally see the door and move towards it when something crosses my path. I gasp and move back, dropping my axe. The figure lunges at me, making me land on my back. They get on top of me, straddling my waist while their hands grip tightly around my throat.

"Have you been bitten?" She asked, clearly a "she" from the pitchiness in her voice.

"What? Bitten? Like from a zombie? No." I said, trying to gasp for air.

"What's your name?"

"T-Tegan, Tegan Quin!" I strained.

"Why are you here?" She asked with a stern look, her grip on my throat somewhat loosening.

"Getting a lotto ticket, what do you think I'm doing?! I say, pointing to my duffel bag filled with practically half the store.

She eyes the bag with a look of wanting, lets go of my throat and snatches the bag, making a dash for the door. I groan, sitting up now. I feel around for the handle of my axe, palms patting down the cold floor, and quickly get up on my feet, running after her. We pass Lindsey's house, but after that she doesn't get very far. She stumbles on a jutted piece of cement and crashes down with a thud on the sidewalk. I stop and hesitate.

_Should I help her? That looked like a pretty nasty fall. What if she scraped her knee real bad?_

_Again with the same situation. She lunged at you with an "I'm going to kill you right here, right now" look, then she took away a weeks worth of food away from you._

_But at least she didn't kill me...And she's a survivor just like me._

_Oh don't tell me you have a thing for her just because she straddled your waist!_

_No! It's not like that! Okay you know what I'm gonna help her whether you like it or not!_

I looked towards her direction and without question ran into a sprint, while she was being dragged behind a tree.

**Emy POV**

"Help! Someone! Anyone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

My attempts at escaping from his grip were futile, but I wasn't planning on giving up without a fight. I hated running errands on my own. I don't understand why Sara can't just grow a pair of balls and come out here and do something helpful for once. All she ever does is stay cooped up in that little tent writing in notebooks, surrounded by an army of volunteer survivors who joined our little group. Of course her husband is the leader/alpha male, which kind of makes her co-leader and me assistant to the co-leader. Everyone looks up to Bruce because he's strong, and used to wear a badge. The only reason people tagged along was because Bruce had connections to weapons and knew the town like the back of his hand. That was about as useful he was gonna get. He spent the rest of his time abusing Sara and all the other women, while occasionally drinking his ass off. Ever since the world went topsy-turvy she's been getting more distant from me. Then again, it could be because of the trip she made to Calgary to go visit her parents, she did say she had something very important to tell them. Either way, Sara's great, she's the only friend I've really opened up to, and I'm happy where we are in our friendship, it's literally the best one I've ever had.

"Ugh! When did zombies get so strong?!" I muttered to myself. I look up at him, his dirty white hands wrapped tightly around my ankles pulling me towards the backyard of some random house. I grab hold of a mailbox post and try to pull myself forward with both arms. That's when I hear running footsteps and start to panic.

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Please not anymore freaks!" I glue my eyes shut, preparing for my inevitable death, when I hear a "squish" coming from my below my ankles. I cautiously open my eyes, expecting to see zombies, but there stands a tiny woman with a purple bandanna across her forehead, black skinny jeans, a blue tanktop with a purple hoodie, and an axe in her left hand smeared with maroon-colored blood.

**Tegan POV**

"Well aren't you gonna thank me?" I ask with a smirk on my face.

"Don't get too cocky, anyways, I didn't need your help. I was perfectly handling the situation." She stands up, obviously annoyed by my presence, dusting the dirt off her jeans. She looks around, in search of a certain grey duffel bag perhaps? But I'm one step ahead.

"Uh oh, ya looking for this?" I say, proudly holding the duffel bag up to my head. The contents of it spill to the ground, she rushes in and grabs at anything she can get ahold of and stuffs the content deep into her pockets.

"Woah, woah,woah,woah! That stuff is mine!" I yell at her, and she not giving a damn. She looks up at me and scoffs.

"You know what? I have a group of 13 to feed, 3 of them barely 11 years old. So if you don't mind I'll just be taking the duffel bag and make my life a little easier!" She screams at me, and now it looks like she's on the brink of tears. She sits on the lawn and puts her head in her face. I can hear her silent sobs from a foot away. I put a reassuring hand on her back and make small circles. I sit inches away from her and pull her into a tight hug.

"Hey, hey, hey...shhh, it's okay. Here you can take my bag if you really need it." I tell her, reaching for the bag behind me and setting it down on her lap. She stops crying and wipes her tears away. She looks up at me in awe.

"Really? I-I...I can't possibly take it."

"You already tried to twice." She chuckles at my remark and pulls me in for a hug.

"Thanks, it'll mean alot to the group."

"No problem." I reply. I stand up and offer her my hand. She's up on her feet in a matter of seconds, but before she leaves, I have to ask her something.

"Say, what do you mean when you say group?"

"A group of survivors who are looking out for each other."

"You haven't by any chance seen a woman about this tall? Black hair? Maybe has a camera around her neck?"

"Hmmm...now that I think about it I think I have...but I'm not sure. I think I saw her by the Police Station in downtown while I was looking for weapons. If you're headed down there, be careful. I've heard rumors that the sheriff got some sort of weird group down there."

"Thanks, you've given me some useful information." I say with a smile on my face, hoping to find Lindsey, Ted, and Jeremy down there.

"Anytime. Thanks for the duffel bag. And if you ever need a place to stay, just look for us in the forest near the lake. It's about five miles from here thataway. We're right on the edge of the lake." She points north from where I'm standing.

"Oh and tell them Emy sent you!" I nod in understanding and we say our goodbyes. I see her walk towards a pharmacy parking lot and hop into a black suburban. She drives down the road, disappearing towards the forest.

It's getting pretty late, although it's probably only about five. It makes me nervous to be out here in the dark, since that's pretty much when all the walkers come out. I decide to head back to the gas station, to salvage whatever food or beverage I can find. I walk all the way back home after picking up some twinkies, a water bottle, loaf of bread, soda pack, and some ham packages. I climb up the steps to the house, but before I walk in, I make sure no zombie or person can see me. When the coast is clear, I open the door carefully and shove myself inside. Hopefully I can go to downtown as planned and start the search for my friends. I wonder what Emy meant by a sherriff and his weird group...

**Lindsey POV**

"Please give us some food, water, anything! We're starving!" My voice screeched after three days of being locked here in a cell. Ted is alright, but Jeremy on the other hand..._no Jeremy is gonna make it out of here alive too._ I fight against my tears, not willing to show my weak side. My hands grip tighter against the bars and I shake them as hard as I can. I lean my forehead against the cool metal and breakdown. I haven't seen Tegan since I left her that note on Friday, and I'm already beginning to accept the idea that she didn't make it. More tears make their way down my cheeks with that thought, _no Tegan's strong and you know it, she's probably out there looking for you right now._ I need Tegan to be here with me and hold me in her arms, to tell me everything is going to be alright. I breakdown even more. The thought of having lost Tegan breaks my heart to pieces. I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend, just skipping the whole dating thing and going right for it. I fell in love with her just three months into our friendship, but she was with Jennifer and I couldn't say anything because I saw how in love Tegan was with her. I stiffen as I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I grimace and look away as he tries to grab me by the hair.

"Look at me when I talk to you, you bitch!" He screams at me and I whimper. I already know what he's capable of.

"My boys come into my room into the middle of the night sayin' that you're askin' for some food. Now, I'm no complainer for a midnight snack, but you know what the price is, an eye for an eye." He flashes me his most evilest smile. I look back at Ted and Jeremy. They've both been doing hard labor to make sure I don't do what I'm about to do.

"I'm sorry, but I'm doing this for you." I whisper to them. I nod at him and he smiles from ear to ear. He unlocks my cell door and leads us to the bed in his office.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sara POV**

He pushes harder into me. I can feel him inside of me and it fills me with disgust. I feel so dirty, and being out here in the wild, there's no way you can truly wash that feeling away.

"You should be happy with my punishment. I ask you to do one simple thing, wash all of me and my buddies' clothes...and what do you do? You stand up to me, as if you had a choice." He grunts and pushes deeper into me. I hate this, I hate my life. That's all I can think about. I think about ending it all, but my one anchor in this world is Emy. At the end of the day, the only person that can help me is Emy, and honestly I don't know what I would do without her. I wish she would get here sooner so I could be cradled in her arms and let my fears magically wash away. She doesn't know anything about this. She knows about the emotional torture that I go through everyday, she's a witness to it, but she has no clue about what goes beyond the tent flaps. She doesn't see the scars that are down there, my scars of shame. The reminders of an angel that almost made his way into my arms, my miscarried son.

"I'm sorry." I say through clenched teeth. The pain is tearing at me, My face is already wet with tears and I can feel a fresh batch escaping my eyes. My face is expressing my torture and he sees it immediately.

"Hey, look at me!" He stops his thrusting and forces me to look at him with his thumb and index finger clenching my chin. I can't stop the tears from flowing down my face as I start to sob. Where did everything go wrong?

"Please...stop. I promise I won't defy you ever again."

He sighs and looks at me in the eyes.

"I can't do this." With that, he gets off of me, off the cot, and pulls up his jeans. I hear the zip of his zipper and the clinking of his metallic belt buckle.

"You fucking ruin everything Sara. What's wrong with you? I didn't even come because of you!"

He puts his arms through his shirt as I pull the blanket closer to me. He walks to the flap of the tent and abruptly turns around, eyeing me with his death stare, and I already know what's coming.

"You can expect double punishment tomorrow." He looks at me like I was some sort of useless animal and closes the flap, leaving me in the darkness of the tent, to be drowned in my own tears of shame and pity that I have for myself.

The tears come instantly, gushing down like a waterfall. I've never loved Bruce. The love that I thought I had for him at the age of fourteen was pure lust. The night he took me away from my innocence was the night I realized it, and something much more important. I realized that night that not only did I not like Bruce, but I didn't like men. I had been pondering about the feelings I had towards women for two years before that night, and I became absolutely sure that I was gay. For sixteen years after that night, I identified myself as a lesbian, but didn't tell a single soul. How could I? My parents, the homophobic pair that they were, would be engulfed with rage and disappointment towards me. I would've been shunned from my community, my school, my friends. Bruce was a curtain to hide behind, and he seemed like the perfect man for me, in the eyes of my parents. The boy who always obeyed my curfew, never missed a birthday or Valentine's day, always made sure to open my car door, promised not to do anything sexual (which was the biggest lie I've ever heard of), and the perfect reason: He had saved my parent's life.

Only he did it for his own good. He abused me starting at the age of seventeen, my parents clueless than they ever could be, and said that I would always be his no matter what. I didn't believe him, I couldn't believe him, but he made sure that I was aware of the fact and surprisingly he kept his promise. He had lost my parents trust when they found out that he had cheated on me, but regained it quickly when he saved them out of my burning home, while I was out, coincidentally after he told me that he had to cancel our plans for that night. I came home early, not really in the mood to have gone out. It was about 12 A.M. when I saw him drenching the house in gasoline and setting it ablaze. I ran towards my house in horror, my parents probably roasting to death inside. He looked shocked to see me, but a grin soon covered his face when he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. Before I could say no, he told me, "You say no, and I tell 911 that it was a prank call. They turn back around...and your parents will die. And you...you could've done something to save them. But you said no. Do you really want to live with that Sara? Do you?" How could I say no?

Ever since that day I've been living in what can only be described as hell. It's going to be another sleepless night for me.

**Tegan POV**

His body lunges at mine. I quickly sidestep his attack and push him down with my elbow.

"YOU KILLED MY FRIEND!" I kick him in the stomach until he's wheezing and doubling over on his side. Some sheriff, doesn't even have the guts to get back up and defend himself. He spits the blood out if his mouth and coughs relentlessly.

"Honey, it ain't murder if you starved the person to death." He says with a cold look in his eye. I should kill him for what he did to Jeremy. I should attack him full on with my axe and chop him into little pieces, only to be fed to the zombies. But I'm the adult here, I'm the only human being here who still has her morals and values.

I lean down next to him and grab a fistful of his dark hair, putting his ear next to my mouth and say to him through clenched teeth, "I should kill you right now, you worthless piece of shit."

"You should...but you don't have the balls. Even after what I did to your shitty friends." He coughed up more blood. I looked at him in confusion, he had only hurt Jeremy? He shifted his eyes to a tied up Lindsey in the corner and smiled. No...no...

"Ah, cat got your tongue? More like your lady friend got mine...and more. That's right, I fucked her, and guess what? She enjoyed it. Probably even loved it. And you know what else? I'd do it again if I had the chance."

I didn't hold back. I punched him in the face over and over and over. I kicked him in the stomach until my foot went numb from the feeling. I hit him until my knuckles bled. How could he? The worthless piece of shit touched MY Lindsey. He tainted MY Lindsey. He scarred, starved, and tortured MY Lindsey, MY Ted, and MY Jeremy. Jeremy will not have died in vain.

I hit him one last time for good measure. He laughs as he coughs up more blood.

"You know how you said you should kill me?" He asks through broken and bleeding teeth.

"Yeah."

"How come you didn't kill me just now?"

"Because I want you to suffer."

He laughs as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out something shiny and small.

"That's where you went wrong."

"BOOM!" I don't know where the bullet landed, but it didn't land on me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tegan POV**

"Lindsey!" I screamed in despair, my voice threatening to break.

"No use in trying honey, she'll be dead in a few minutes." He chuckled lightly, but to me those were his last words. I walked over to him and took the revolver out of his hand. I was fueled with rage, and I knew that even if I looked back years later on what I'm about to do, I wouldn't regret it. I held the revolver in my hand, twirling it around for the feel. I put it against the side his head right above his ear.

I feel nothing at this moment, and I don't recognize the voice coming out of my throat. It's so sinister, so cold, as if all the happiness I had ever experienced in life never existed.

"And you'll be dead in a few seconds." I whispered lowly into his ear.

Before the shot rang into the dead of the night, I saw his face. It was twisted in fear and regret. As if he regretted everything bad that he had ever done in those few seconds. He saw his life flashing before his eyes, I was sure of it. I saw his life flash before my eyes.

"Tegan!" I heard Lindsey call out my name for reassurance.

"Lindsey!" I got up off my knees and ran towards the corner where she was tied up. I took out my knife and cut the rope off of her and she slumped into my arms. I repositioned myself so that I cradled her, making sure that she knew I was here, her knight in shining armor. I wanted her to know that she was safe, that I wouldn't let anything or anyone touch her ever again. I pulled off my jacket and applied pressure to her wound.

"Lindsey, talk to me, I'm here, please say something." I cupped her face gently. She heaved into my chest slowly, her blood slowly draining from her face.

"T-Tegan...my stomach...I can't handle the pain..." My heart broke into a million pieces, she was hurting, and worse because of me. If I hadn't been such a goody-two-shoes maybe she wouldn't be lying in pain right now. Lindsey saw the expression in my face and knew what I was thinking. Tears streamed down my face as she said, "Tegan don't cry...it's not your fault."

"Yes it is! I should've killed him when I had the chance."

"No Tegan, don't take the blame for this. It'll hurt me more knowing that I went away and you felt guilty about this."

"No! Don't say that! You're not going away!" Tears spilled as I repeated the words. She's not going anywhere. She's going to be right by my side defending me and looking out for me. Ted's gonna build us a log cabin near a lake we're going to go live in it with Ted. We're gonna run errands everyday gathering food and supplies. We're gonna take people in and help them. We're gonna look like such bad-asses when we go out to kill walkers, with our bandannas and stolen designer leather jackets.

"Tegan...I-I'm ready to go now." She pulled me away from my comforting thoughts. Her words hit me like a freight train, they plowed right into my heart. She's taking apart of me with her, the most important parts of me; my happiness, my friendship, my love...my heart. I love her like if she was my own blood. I cupped her face and smashed my lips to hers. I poured every ounce of love that I had for her and in that kiss tried to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. She wrapped her arms lovingly around my neck and cried into the kiss. I know I shouldn't have kissed her, I was making her think that I loved her, and I did, but not in the way that she wants me to love her. She pulled away, sobbing was my turn to be the strong one for us both.

"Tegan...Will you be my girlfriend?"

"What? I-I..." I don't know how to respond. I know what to say though, but I won't mean it. If I was ever to say yes to anything, I would want to mean it. But I can't just say no. She'll leave me knowing that I was never hers, when that's all that she really wanted in life. I have to give her her dying wish. I cried knowing that she doesn't have my whole heart, but she smiles thinking that she does, and it hurts me even more to see that smile on her face.

"Yes...yes, I will be your girlfriend."

"Tegan...know that I will die happily."

"No...You will live being my girlfriend."

"Ok...I'll try, but I don't think I have long."

All of a sudden, we heard the fence that covered the outside court shake. Walkers were coming from all angles, threatening to break down the barrier. The sound from the gunshot must've attracted them.

"Shit! Lindsey hold on."

"T-Tegan w-what's going on?" The fear in her voice shook my heart.

"Nothing, we just have to get out of here quick. Here hop on my back, I'll carry you."

"Tegan you sound scared, whats-"

"Nothing, Lindsey just get on my back!" I pleaded with her to get on my back.

She got on my back, her thighs on the sides of my hips and her arms around my neck. I put my hands on her thighs, to secure her from slipping off of my back. I ran as fast as I could, back into the building. Ted had been sleeping when I got here, so I explored for a bit and went outside to find Lindsey being tied up by the sheriff. I ran into Ted while heading to his cell.

"Tegan! You made it out alive?!" He sounded so excited to see me, but this was no time for pleasantries.

"Ted, Lindsey's been hurt. Can you carry her for me?"

"What? How was she hurt?" He extended his arms to carry her wedding-style.

"She was shot by the bastard." I was about to tell him that I later killed him, but I was scared of what he would think of me. I didn't want him to view me as a murderer, it would ruin our friendship.

We ran towards the exit of the building, which was also the entrance, and stopped. Any noise from us would alert the walkers, who were about 50 feet away from us to our right. They were still pounding against the fence, unaware that we had already escaped into the night. We made our way to the left of the building, where all the cop cars were. The walkers were all around the parking lot.

"Shit...We'll just take the closest one, and remember, try to not make any noise." I whispered as lowly as I could. We tiptoe on the side walk and make our way to the first car in the row. Ted tugs on the handle.

"It won't budge. They must all be locked."

"Damn...Oh! Do you know how to pick locks?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Lindsey has a hair pin. Take it out and try to pick at it."

"Ok." He searches through Lindsey's tangled mess and grabs it. He feels around with the little piece of metal. Then we both hear a click. Followed soon by a blaring alarm. We crouch down and lay Lindsey against the car, she groans, probably awake from passing out. We hear the sound of shuffling feet come closer.

"Shit." I say and pull myself to look through the car windows to see the other side. The walkers are coming closer, probably only 30 feet away now. I notice a gun in the driver seat of the car. I formulate a plan and turn my attention to Ted.

"Ted, grab Lindsey and take her to the car over there. Get her inside. I'll cover you."

"Tegan, no, what if they get you?"

"Ted, there's no time for 'what ifs' just do as I say and get you and Lindsey to safety." I'm on the brink of tears and he notices right away. He nods in understanding and carries Lindsey over his shoulder. As soon as he walks to the other side, I open the car door and grab the gun. Thank god it's loaded.

"Tegan!"

I quickly stand and look over at Ted. There's a walker ten feet in front of him while he's trying to open the lock. I take my aim, my hands shaking with the gun in my hand, and shoot. He goes down, but not before chunks of his head fly off. Ted unlocks the door, and rests Lindsey in the backseats. I run towards them, shooting at another walker that got too close. I make my way to the passenger door and wait for Ted to hot wire the car.

"Please Ted, hurry up!" I plead to him. I shoot at two other walkers. Now the walkers that were banging on the fence are starting to make their way towards us.

"Tegan I'm trying the best I can!"

"Well then try harder!" He gives me a stare, one that doesn't look very nice on him.

"I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." He mutters without looking at me.

"There! I've got it started!" He looks at me with joy. I feel better with him smiling at me.

I shoot at three more walkers and hop into the car. I tell Ted to drive to Lindsey's house and we arrive in twenty minutes. When we get there, we notice the neighborhood has been run over by zombies.

"Ted park in the driveway and I'll get some supplies." I tell him, giving him a stare that tells him not to question my actions.

"Ok."

I grab the gun and open the car door. I cautiously look around and run towards the door. I grab the keys out of my pocket and unlock the door. I grab the tiny flashlight from my keychain and look around for my emergency-to-go bag. I packed it yesterday, in case I ever had to move right away. Inside it was food, batteries, clothes, water, first-aid kits, pens, papers, pencils, knifes, box cutters, my axe, and the thing I treasured most, my Gibson. It was a pretty heavy bag, but I didn't mind. I lug it back outside and tell Ted to pop open the truck. I quietly put it in there and set the top down. I hop back into the passenger's side and settle into my seat.

"We can't stay here." I look at Ted and he eyes me with a look of worry.

"Why?"

"The back door. The boards had been torn apart and the door had been kicked down." I felt tears around the rims of my eyes. I looked out the window and silently sobbed. Ted heard me and rubbed circles on my back. Why did this happen to me? In one day I lost a friend and I'm probably going to lose another. _On the bright side, you did get a girlfriend, after what? A month of celibacy?_ We don't have enough food, Lindsey's hurt, there are thousands of walkers outside, who have yet to notice us, and we don't have a place to stay...wait a minute.

"I know where we can stay!" My face, though streaming with tears, lit up at the idea.

"You do?! Where?" Ted mimiced my reaction, minus the tears.

"This girl that I met! Emy, she said if we ever needed a place to stay that we could go to her camp. It's five miles that way. There's a forest with a lake and she said that they were camped out on the edge." I pointed north, towards the wooded area.

"Ok!" Ted pulled out of the driveway when suddenly a walker smashed the backseat window.

"Lindsey!" I screamed and pulled out my axe. I climbed towards the back of my car and and hit it with the handle, forcing it to stumble backwards.

"TED DRIVE!" Without hesitation, he stepped on the gas pedal and we sped through the quiet streets.


	6. Chapter 6

**Emy POV**

"Ughhh." I sat up on my cot and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I just got a call from Jasper and John that they spotted someone heading towards the camp in a cop car. _Oh great, one of Bruce's buddies coming to visit at 1 A.M_. I put on some grey sweat pants and my white v-neck. I grab my blanket and wrap it snugly around me. I push open the flaps of my tent and head out with my flashlight and gun. I make my way towards our "entrance" even though it's just two tall trees.

"Hey Jasper, John. How's night watch goin?" I let out a yawn and wrap the blanket around me even tighter.

"Jasper spotted a car over there." He points to a little hill in the dirt road and I see the car approaching at a fast speed.

"It's a cop car alright, but it doesn't seem to be from the city's police department." John passes me the binoculars to have a look for myself.

"Oh! Oh! It's coming!" Jasper runs off to avoid getting run over, but I step into the middle of the road and turn on my flashlight to wave the light around. The car gets closer and screeches to a halt. I grab my gun out and aim it towards the opening car doors. John and Jasper soon join me, and now we have the car surrounded.

"Woah, woah, woah! We're friendly! Emy, it's me, Tegan! I have someone who's badly injured!"

"Tegan? Guys, stand down." Both Jasper and John lower their weapons slowly to their sides. I approach the passenger's side of the car, and surely enough it's Tegan. I know I said she could come whenever she needed a place to stay, but I didn't think she'd actually come. We're low on supplies as it is and we barely have enough tents to situate everybody. I look through the windows and I see a girl with a bloody jacket wrapped around her midsection. Tegan sees me eye her and pleads, "Please, she got shot."

"You're lucky we have a surgeon and a nurse. Jasper, radio in Johnny and Stacy, tell them it's a bullet wound to the midsection." Jasper nods in understanding and grabs his walkie-talkie hanging from his belt.

"John lead umm..."

"Ted."

"Ted! Lead Ted to the medicine tent and see if you can give him some food, umm Tegan could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah sure." We watch everyone leave and we end up walking back to the campsite.

"Tegan, this is kind of awkward. I know I said that you could come here if you needed a place to stay, but I didn't expect you to come. Frankly, we don't have enough food or supplies to go around and not enough tents."

"But I could help around the camp, whatever you need me to do I'll do it, whatever you need me to collect, I'll collect it. And I have blankets, so me and Ted could just sleep on the ground."

"No, you don't have to sleep on the ground, I'm pretty sure we can cram you into the tents. But I don't know if this'll work...we can give it a try though." I smile weakly and huge smile spreads across her face. She gets in closer and hugs me tight.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You won't regret it I promise."

"Ok, but remember if we need you and your friends to leave, don't try and fight to stay here a while longer." She nods in understanding, the smile on her face already washed off.

We make our way to the medicine tent and push the flap to the side to get a better look. Johnny has his gloves on and Stacy is at his side with all the tools. They've anesthetized the girl and are about to cut her open, when Tegan runs out crying.

**Sara POV**

"Mmmm...no...no, Bruce don't...leave Emy alone...NO!" I wake up in a sweat. I immediately get into a sitting position on my cot. My clothes are clinging to my skin and my eyes are ready to fall out of their sockets. My chest starts heaving, I can't control my breath, I'm trying to breathe in some air, but I can't seem to inhale any; I feel like I'm drowning. _My puffer...where the hell is it?!_ I reach around under my cot and finally feel it. I grab it and bring it up to my mouth. _Ah...there...take a deep breath and calm the fuck down, Bruce is sleeping right next to you and you DON'T want to wake him up._ I lean back down and let my arm hang off the edge of the cot. My puffer drops to the floor and I don't bother to put it back where it belongs. I sigh. I had the nightmare again. He had Emy under him, and she was screaming at me to help, but I wouldn't move, like if my feet were glued to the floor. She was screaming and I didn't bother to help. I know why I've been having these dreams, but I don't want to come to terms with it. I don't want to believe it, I don't want to understand why Bruce would hurt me like that, when he already has me to use. I've been seeing him eye her lately, I always see his eyes wandering to her bum when she picks up things, I can see his eyes wander to her lips and her breasts. The worst part is that he knows that she's gay, and it freaks him out so much, so why would he want her? Was she a piece of forbidden fruit that he so badly wanted to take a bite out of? Was she another adventure? Was he trying to prove something? Was he trying to hurt me even more than what he already has? I would absolutely kill him, if he ever tried to touch her. I'd muster up every once of courage I had and pull the trigger. Emy was like a sister to me, she's put up with every thing that I have to put up with. My depression, Bruce, my emotional turmoil, and now this shitty world we live in. She had come to pick me up after the media broke the news and said she didn't care if Bruce had to tag along, she was taking me somewhere safe and she was going to protect me.

I need to take a walk. Maybe if I clear my head I'll forget about my nightmare and go back to sleep peacefully, although that's highly unlikely. I get up slowly as possible, being careful not to make any noise. I hear Bruce talking in his sleep. I freeze. He stopped talking, but I'm too afraid to move now. Five minutes pass by before I grab my cardigan and put it on. I put on my sweats and grab my running shoes. I unzip the zipper and step out of the tent, making sure to turn around and zip it back up. The night air is chilly, and the stars are shining at their full potential tonight. The moon is fully lit tonight, casting a glow on the lake. If the world ever becomes okay, I would totally come back and live right on the edge of the lake. I can't help but smile at the breathtaking scenery before me. Nature is always perfect, but sometimes it can literally take your breath away. I remember something my parents told me, they said I was about two years old when I got my first glance at the ocean. They said I ran straight for it, but came back running to their arms giggling when the incoming tide tickled my toes. I head down the hill that I'm standing on and head towards the lake. Maybe I'll go skinny dipping, or wash myself off, it has been a week since my body made contact with water. I head towards the medicine tent first to grab some shampoo and some towels. I'm about ten feet away when I hear someone crying and Emy's soothing voice. I quickly hide behind a tree to eavesdrop on the situation. I know, I know, It's not nice to eavesdrop, but I mean who cares? It's not like I'm going to tell anybody.

"...and it's just all so fucked up. How am I going to take care of her? I can barely take care of myself. What if she doesn't recover? I-I..."

"Shhhhh, Tegan calm down, everything is gonna be alright, you're just over thinking it." Tegan? Well, whoever this is, she sure sounds like a mess. I can barely see her under the faint shadow being cast by the tent. She stands up, and moves into the Moon's lighting. That's when my body comes to a halt. She's so beautiful, well more like hot, but still beautiful. She has short brown hair that comes to about her shoulders, her tattoos that run up and down her arms are faint in the light, but still recognizable. Her lips are twitching in the most adorable way possible, although she's probably having an emotional break down on the inside. Her strong jaw line casts a faint shadow on her neck, and I can only imagine what I would do to that neck if I had the chance. Her lips look so soft and inviting in the moonlight, and I can't help but wonder how they would feel like on mine. My core is starting to ache and I can't bear to look at her anymore. She stares in my direction and I quickly turn back around against the tree. _Shit. Sara why can't you get a hold of yourself?!_

"Emy I saw something move."

"What? Where? Tegan get your axe. We can't use guns out here." I hear the scrambling of feet and hear Emy coming closer. I don't know what to do. Emy never wants me hanging around in the dark. Should I run for it? No, she might shoot me accidentally. I know she said she couldn't use guns, but I know her, she'll use it when she's surprised or when she feels she has to use it.

"Emy it's me Sara!" I bite my lip, wondering if I should regret what I shouted.

"Sara! You know you shouldn't be out here! Why won't you listen to me! Sara you know he might wake up and do to you what he did last time!" Her words hurt me and now I'm on the verge of breaking down. She notices and wraps her arms around me. Her touch comforts me immediately and she tries to soothe me.

"I'm sorry Sara for yelling at you but you know I don't want to see you getting abused by him." She rubs my hair and pats my back. I wrap my arms around her waist and lean my head into the crook of her neck.

"SARA! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?! YOU BETTER HOPE I DON'T FIND YOU?!"

"Emy E-Emmyy?" I start to freak out in her arms. _Oh god oh god, he's going to beat me._

"Emy don't let him get to me."

"Shhhh, Sara please keep quiet." She pleads with me and begs with me but I keep on whimpering.

"There you are." He slaps Emy and yanks me by the wrist. He leads me to a tree and grabs some rope and ties me to it. He goes back and slings the now unconscious Emy onto his back. He heads back towards our tent and passes by me, flashing a grin.

"No! No! You can't do this to her!" I try to wriggle free from the rope, but it's useless.

"I can and I will... I deserve her." He spits on me and walks away, taking Emy with him.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tegan POV**

I'm running back to the medicine tent with my axe, sure it took me a while, about five minutes, but I'm pretty sure Emy can take care of herself. _Well not based on your previous encounter_.

"Emy! EMY! Emy are you out there?!" I have my axe and I'm looking for Emy, but she seems to have disappeared. I look to my left and to my right. Nothing. _Ugh...Emy where are you?_

"Emy! Please answer me!" _Wait...what if the zombie got her? No, Emy would've shouted for help, or fired the gun she had hidden._

"HELP!" That doesn't sound like Emy, but this person sounds more in distress. I race over to the location of the shout. As I get closer, I see a woman tied to a tree, squirming for freedom. She has a tiny frame and short brown hair tucked behind her ear. Her hazel eyes twinkle whenever the moonlight hits them; she's easily the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. I'm pulled away from my thoughts when I'm standing right at her feet.

"Please untie me!" She looks into my eyes, searching for some kind of compassion from me. Her stare is so intense, I get pulled back to the thoughts I was having about her.

"PLEASE!"

"Oh, um yeah, I guess I could, don't worry." I go to the back of the tree trunk, raise the axe, and slash it off. She gets up on her feet and runs towards me. She grips my wrist and pulls me towards a different tent where I can hear two people arguing. I can immediately tell it's Emy, who sounds like she's terrified, and a man who sounds really pissed off.

"Untie me or I'll scream!"

"And if you do, who's gonna come? Jasper? John? Please, they're good for nothing except for zombie bait. Face it Emy...no one's coming to save you...not even Sara. She saw me take you away and she ran...she ran away as fast as she could."

"No that's not true!" I hear skin come into contact with skin, probably a slap.

"Are you calling me a fucking liar? You bitch!"

I turn back to the woman and see that she has a look of fear on her face. I wonder who she is, and why is she so worried about Emy? Unless her and Emy are...no. It doesn't look like it, but they would sure make a cute couple. Then again, me and her would make a cute couple as well. I smirk at the idea. _Note to self: Time to pull out the charm. Wait a minute...Lindsey. Darn. She is under some pretty heavy medicine though, so maybe she'll forget our new title as girlfriends. But what if she doesn't? I have to tell her at some point that everything that was said was just in the moment. But I can't do that to her. She looked so happy when I told her yes, the last thing I wanna do is hurt LB._

"We have to save her." She says, pulling me out of my thoughts, and takes hold of both of my hands and grasps them tightly, searching my face for reassurance that I'll help her. I nod in understanding. We open the tent flaps and are met with a gruesome scene.

**Sara POV**

She pushes open the flap and I can't believe the sight that's in front of me. He has Emy tied to the table and she's completely naked. Her face lightens up a bit when she sees me, but it's not enough to bring a smile to her face. She's whimpering and trembling when she sees Bruce take a step closer towards me and Tegan. Bruce takes a step closer to me, raising his his fist, but Tegan steps in front of me, shielding me away from him.

"Don't you dare touch her." She looks at him intensely in the eye, but he's not intimidated by her small structure.

"Get out of my way."

"NO." She plants her feet firmer into the ground. She shows no signs of fear, but more of confidence. I'm glad that she's protecting me, if it wasn't for her, I'd be on the ground by now. It isn't until now that I notice that she has some muscle on her arms, but I doubt they'll do anything to hurt Bruce.

"Fine, have it your way." His fist is about to come into contact with her stomach, but she jumps back, forcing me out the tent. I land on my bum and scramble away, watching the fight continue from the side of the tent.

Tegan pulls him out of the tent and they both fall onto the ground. He lands on top of her, but she lifts him up a little and uses her feet to kick him off and roll away at the same time. I tiptoe my way to the opening of the tent so I can use this time to free Emy.

"Emy!" I shout with joy. She squirms under the rope that's binding her wrists and ankles. I quickly grab the knife that I keep under my bed. I make my way back towards her and start to cut my way through the thick rope.

"Please hurry." She squirms even more, fear taking over her body.

"It's okay, it's okay, don't worry I've got you." I make my way towards her ankles, having already cut off the rope that was around her wrists. She sits uprights, her legs shaking. I accidentally cut her on her ankles. She winces at the pain and I start to lose it when I see the blood trickling down. I was never one to have a strong stomach, but I manage to keep it down for the time being.

"Emy don't move, I might cut you again." I say to her in a voice as soothing as possible, she eases a bit at my words and I manage to cut off the last bit of the rope. She jumps off the table and into my arms. I pull her into a tight embrace, paying no attention to the fact that she's completely naked.

"S-Sara...h-he was going to r-rape me!" She cries into the crook of my neck, grabbing tightly at the back of my hair.

"No he wasn't. I would never let that happen."

"Sara where were you?! He said you ran away!"

"No, Emy you know I wouldn't do that. He tied me up to a tree and carried you away, but I promise I won't let him carry you away ever again." I hug her even tighter, and she slowly stops sobbing.

"Wait, if you were tied up, then how are you here now?"

"Tegan untied me." I tell her, not wondering at all where Tegan might be.

"Wait...where's Tegan?"

"Oh my God, Tegan!" She pulls away from me and quickly gets dressed. I walk out of the tent flap, Emy following suit. We both stop abruptly and try to make sense at what we're seeing.

"Sara do something." Emy whispers in my ear, but I don't know what to say. Tegan and Bruce are standing at least 20 feet apart. Tegan has her gun aimed at Bruce's face and Bruce has his aimed at hers. Tegan's lips are busted, blood seeping though her mouth. Purple marks are starting to appear around her body,_ her perfect body...Oh shut up._ Bruce's hair is a mess and his mouth is in need of stitches, blood seeping though his knocked-out teeth. Before I can say anything, a gunshot is fired, followed by a thud sound, signaling a fallen body.

"TEGAN NO!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Tegan POV**

I shot him. I shot him in the arm. I had it aimed for his face, but I shot him in the arm. I'm not a murderer. I'm not. His hand is covering the wound, and in a desperate attempt, he's rolling around on the floor, trying to relieve even the slightest of pain. He's crying out in pain, but I can't hear him. Right now, I'm blocking out every sound. My hand loosens its grip on the gun, and it slips out of my hand. It drops to the grass, but I heard it. The only sound I could make out. I shudder and drop to my knees. I almost killed him. I was about to aim for his heart, but something inside me made me aim farther to the right, onto his arm. The last sliver of good that still inhabited my body, made me avoid killing another man. Taking another life is starting to mean nothing to me. The calm that comes for just a second when you're about to pull the trigger. The anticipation. The adrenaline. The realization. It's starting to get to me.

"You're not a murderer...y-you don't mean to do it." I mutter under my breath. Every last word comes out in a shaky breath. I look up and see the woman attempting to reach out to the man. The man pushes her away and she stumbles onto the ground, landing on her bum. He's about to hit her, but he pulls back, wincing in pain. I should get up, do something. I can't. The fact that I was about to kill him...I didn't even think about taking his life, the act came instinctively to me. **He hurt someone. His life should be taken away.** Those were the orders that were given and carried out by me. But that sliver of good...I need to keep it alive and make sure that the next time I'm able to think things through. If not, who knows what'll happen. I could become a killing machine, a vigilante if you will.

I'm pulled away from my thoughts when I feel an arm wrap around me. At the same time, I finally let the sounds in. I wince at the venomous words that are being spewed into the night.

"Get away from me you fucking bitch!" The man tries to get up, but accidentally uses his injured arm. The pressure must've been too intense because now he's clutching his arm in fetal position.

"Fuck you Sara! Fuck you and your dyke of a friend!"

"Bruce, please let me help you. Bruce be logical, you have a bullet wound, you need medical attention. Let me take you to Johnny." Sara gets closer and he flicks her away with a wave of his hand. She takes a step back, giving him his space. He gets up and turns around to look at me and Emy.

"I'll be back, for the both of y'all. You won't know when, but soon. Just pray that I die from this." He turns around and looks at Sara.

"I've had enough of your shit...that's it for me. I'm leaving!" He drags himself to a police car at the bottom of the hill. He opens the car door with his uninjured hand and speeds off to who knows where.

**The Next Day**

**Lindsey POV**

"Tegan...Will you be my girlfriend?"

"What? I-I..." She hesitates for a second, a look of uncertainty in her eyes. I'm not the stupidest person in the world, and I'm not the smartest one, but I'm smart enough to know that Tegan doesn't love me. She loves me, but not the way I want her to love me. After all these years that we've been friends, we're still just that, friends. It hurts me everyday to know that I don't have her whole heart, and that one day someone will come along and snatch it from me before I have a chance to tame it. I've seen how she goes from girl to girl, and each one falls, but they can't seem to pull Tegan down with them. I envy them, they get at least a quarter of Tegan, a quarter of Tegan that I'm missing out on. I've given up on the idea that me and Tegan will be together, maybe towards the end, when she never found her other half, but I'll happily try to fill the void in her heart, even if I don't, I still have Tegan as a friend. I'm absolutely sure that she's my missing half, my soul mate. When we met, I had no idea who she was, my boss just told me that she was a struggling artist looking for some gigs, so there I go, off to take pictures of some struggling artist, not knowing that I was going to fall head over heels for her. I arrive at the small venue late and the first thing I hear is her voice. She had the voice of an angel, it was filled with so much emotion, and the sound of her Gibson was so smooth; together they were sweet venom for the ears. I made my way to the front for pictures and I caught her staring at me. It made me blush and my heart flutter, and I stood there like an idiot not taking a single picture for the rest of the night. I screwed up the assignment and arrived at work the next day empty handed. Needless to say my boss was so pissed off at me that he fired me in front of everybody, but I didn't care. I was still lingering from the high of Tegan looking at me throughout the whole set. I drove back home and had 10 missed calls from Tegan saying that she wanted to talk to me. I couldn't believe it, the girl I now had a crush on was calling me. I didn't hesitate to call her back, and when I did, she asked if I wanted to join her team as her photographer. I immediately said yes and over the course of five years we've grown to become each other's best friends. Over those five years, I haven't had a partner, or even gone out on a date, which meant no sex, but I stayed single for Tegan...hoping that one day she would come around and realize that the person who would make her happy, fufill her dreams, love her unconditionally, was standing right beside her.

"Yes...yes, I will be your girlfriend." I smile at the thought of her not being able to hurt me. The answer I've been waiting to hear for five years...it saddens me. Have you ever had something, but you know it's not yours completely? Like if your friend had a guitar and you wanted that guitar, so you ask them if they can let you borrow it and they say yes. Sure you have a guitar now, but now you want to buy picks for it, get a stand for it, put stickers on it, but you can't because it's not fully yours. It's for someone else to decorate, not you. Even if I do spend the rest of my life with someone else, they won't be Tegan. I won't wake up to a gummy smile, I won't get to inhale her strawberry scented hair, I won't be there through her ups and downs...I won't be THERE. The sadness brings an ache to my chest, but I smile through it, not wanting Tegan to see me crying over her and the void in her heart, a void I know I can't fill. So why go through the trouble of asking her to be my girlfriend? Because in the end, if can't have Tegan...then no one else can. I know that in the end, I'll be enough to fill the void. Tegan will be happy living by my side, and I by hers.

"Tegan...know that I will die happily." By your side, six feet under, or six feet above, it won't matter as long as we're together.

The memory plays in my head, as vividly that vividly can get. I meant every single word spoken, every single thought that was thought, and yet I feel guilty. I'm forcing Tegan to love me and that could end up in flames, burning our friendship with it. Am I willing to risk it all just so that she can love me? Yes, because in the end we'll be happy and this will just be one of those silly moments we'll look back on.

_Where am I?_ I bring my hands up to my forehead and try to massage my throbbing head. I open my eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the burning light coming in through the tent flap. It looks to me like the source of the light is from a fire, but I'm not sure. I turn on my side and see Ted, peacefully snoring away on a small cot, his legs dangling off the edge. His peaceful state brings a smile to my face. I see a small blanket barely covering his body. He shivers and I don't hesitate to get off my cot and give him my blanket. Now that I'm up, I notice that I'm in all white. A white v-neck, white shorts and some white socks. I laugh at whoever dressed me, they obviously don't know that my least favorite color is white. I pull my hair into a ponytail and step out. That's when I see them. Tegan is talking to some girl, sitting too close to her by my standards. I can see her eyes darting across this girl's face; she's obviously studying her. She's listening to every word that this girl has to say, as if she missed out on one syllable, she would be missing out on the whole conversation. The girl is gesturing all over the place, her hands at some point already covering the whole space around her. Tegan rests her elbows on her knees, using her hands to carry the weight of her head. The girl stops talking and she mimics Tegan's actions. This brings a laugh to Tegan and seeing her laugh fills me with rage. Tegan stares into the girl's eyes for what seems like hours, but what are really minutes. That's when I decide to interrupt their little chat and head towards the fire.

**Emy POV**

I've never seen Sara this happy before, not even with me. Tegan just came out of her tent for a walk and Sara just immediately pulled her into a conversation. Who knows what they're talking about, they've been chattering for what seems like hours, but it's only been 45 minutes. I'm happy to see them getting along, I honestly didn't know what Sara would say about adding more people to the group, but it looks like she doesn't mind. They've finally stopped talking and are now staring intensely into each other's eyes, which makes me kind of nervous.I thought I heard Tegan mention a girlfriend earlier, but I must've imagined it. I hear the shuffling of feet and tense up, already preparing for the worst. I see it's another person and ease a little bit, but I still don't know who this is.

"Oh, hey Lindsey." Tegan says, and immediately scoots away from Sara.

"Oh, hey sweetie. I missed you." I can see Sara's face sadden at the use of her words from a mile away. Lindsey sits in the space separating Tegan and Sara. She wraps her arms around Tegans mid section, but flinchs back in pain.

"Oh yeah, don't try to move too much, you do have kind of a nasty wound there." I say, hoping to get her attention. She smiles embarrassingly at me and I feel my heart pick up it's pace. Her bangs fall out of place and she reaches up to put them back behind her ear. My heart slows down at the sight of this. I start to get nervous and look away, staring out into the distance in front of me. I let out a shaky breath, one I didn't realize I was holding. _What the fuck is wrong with you Emy? Grab a hold of yourself!_ I try to give my self a mental smack, but it's not working. I look back at the group and see that they're all staring at me, especially Lindsey. Her piercing eyes were looking directly into mine. I can feel my palms start to sweat and I start to panic.

"Emy what's wrong?" Sara asks me, worry filling her voice.

"Oh, I-I um...I just think I feel a little under the weather, you know. I think gonna go to sleep now." I respond, already feeling more nervous than tired.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to sleep too." Tegan gets up and turns back towards Sara.

"I'm gonna sleep with you... if that's alright?" Sara's eyes light up with excitement and she's about to respond when Lindsey cuts her off.

"No, you can sleep with Ted, I'm pretty sure he wants to talk to you in the morning."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Tegan asks, confused by Lindsey and why she doesn't want her sleeping in the same tent as Sara.

"Oh, don't worry I'll sleep with Emy." She comes over and pats me on the back.

"You don't mind, do you Emy?" She asks me, having no clue as to what she's doing to me.

"No, that's perfectly fine." I manage to let out in a pitchy voice.

"Wow you really are coming down with something." She says to me, flashing me a smile, one of the best smiles I've ever seen. I chuckle at her comment, walking nervously to the tent we'll be sharing. We get there and she starts to undress in front of me. I gulp and look away, almost snapping my neck. She notices my actions and chuckles. She hops into the cot and I still stand near the flap, probably looking like the biggest dork. She pulls the blanket under her chin and asks me,

"Aren't you coming to bed?" I nod my head and open the flap. I take off my shoes and slip underneath the small blanket. I turn on my side facing away from her cot. I sigh a sigh I've been holding in and close my eyes.

"Goodnight Emy, sweet dreams." I tense up at her words, but manage to give a reply.

"Goodnight Lindsey. May you also have sweet dreams." I feel like such a dork at the use of my words, but she chuckles and I can feel someone the tension leave my body. Tonight can go either two ways, I'm going to have a very uncomfortable sleep, or I'm going to have crazy sex fantasies about Lindsey. I'd rather have the fantasies, but then again...I'd rather not.


	9. Chapter 9

**Tegan POV**

I can hear a soft squealing in the distance. It sounds like a pig's vocal chords being run over by a tractor. Whoever this is is, they're successfully failing at attempting to play an assembly call on what I now know is a bugle.

"Cut that crap OFF!" I roll over on my side, trying to muffle the sounds and cover up my other ear with my hand. I close my eyes shut, but the ringing is piercing through my ears and I can't take it anymore. This reminds me of the days when I wouldn't wake up early for school and my mom would come into my room with practically the whole kitchen, just to have the loudest jam session ever. I learned to adapt with the loud banging, since I didn't want to wake up to another miserable day of being bullied on. I had come out to my best friend Jennifer in the ninth grade, and she seemed to be cool with it, but proceeded to tell the whole school about it. I found out about her backstabbing actions when I visited my manure-filled locker, and on it was a note that said, "Go die in a pile of shit you fucking dyke." It hurt me to know that people could be so cruel to me, didn't they know that each of their words was a like a dull dagger that cut through my skin? I always told myself that I wouldn't allow them to hurt me like that, they were just words on a piece of regular paper, nothing special about it. But the accumulating amount just became too much for my emotional stability, and the last note I ever received was one that read, "Go die with Satan, pretty sure he has some room for you :)" The happy face was the last straw for me, it meant no one valued my worth as a human being, no one would weep for me at my grave, no one would hear my silent cries that drifted off into the night air. When I arrived home that day, I headed straight for my closet and locked myself in. No one cared, no one listened, no one offered to help fix me, so why bother living? I know they say it gets better, but how can you think about your future happiness when you were going through hell and having a war inside of you? How can you think about your future family, when your present one is trying to fix you back into normality, trying to rewrite your DNA and change your whole being? How can you think about future friends, when you have none to comfort you through your misery? The friends that you trusted to love you and accept you unconditionally, suddenly turned their backs on you and made you an outcast. They cast you looks of shame and pity whenever you walked by them. They think you're disgusting, something that should be sent to the pits of Tartarus, and they don't hesitate to call you out in the middle of class, even if the teacher is in the room. The teachers...the ones we put on a pedestal everyday for being able to deal with us, and when we send off our kids to school, we expect them to be in the arms of an angel. Teachers are supposed to protect students from any physical and emotional abuse...not join the mob and ridicule the "sick ones" to the point that I felt I was being teased by death with a dull knife. As I sat in my enclosed space and contemplated the meaning of my life and the effect it had on others, I saw it, through the small slit between the doors, I saw it. The white rope that could bring me ease and happiness in life; my quick escape out. It beckoned me to open the closet doors and wrap it around my neck, my tired neck that endured so much pain from people trying to end my life for me. I thought about it, and for the first time I heard it: silence. For once I couldn't hear the mob, the mob that persecuted me to the edges of the city shouting their hateful words, each one sharp daggers to my ears. For once I didn't hear the laughter of the teachers, their roaring cries of pity and shame. For once I didn't hear the cries of my mother, her cries of shame and guilt for raising such a demonic child. In her eyes I was tainted, inside of me was everything that was wrong with the world, inside of me was a part of her and my deceased father, who's memory I have tainted with my heart. I looked at the rope, seeing my life attached to it. I opened the doors, the squeak echoing throughout the empty halls of my home. I crawl to the other side of my white room and sit down in front of it. The rope held my deepest desires, peace, tranquility, and most of all...silence. They were all intertwined in the little fibers that held the rope together. I reach for it and grasp it in my hand. It was heavy, just like my life, it took such strength to carry around...just like my life. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath as I got up and headed back to the closet. I stepped inside the four walls and shut the door slowly. I carefully reached for the string above my head, standing on the tips of my toes, and pull it down, immediately illuminating the enclosed space. I wrapped the rope around the pole that carried my clothes. Automatically, my hands tie a noose and I put my small head through it. I grab a box from the corner and stand on top of it, feeling like I was finally on top of the world. I was finally going to receive my peace, my tranquility, my aching silence. I was saying goodbye to the world, and in that moment I forgave everyone that managed to make me crumble, everyone who managed to make my life an open book of misery. We were all finally getting what we wanted...they wanted me gone and I just wanted my peace, my space. In the end, the bullies and the victim both win a prize. I heard the door from down stairs open and someone close it. I could hear my mother's silent footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Tegan? Tegan, I'm home, come on we have our daily meeting with the pastor and I don't want to be late." Those were the last words I heard from her as I stepped off the box and into a peaceful state of mind.

I woke up later that evening to the sound of a constant beep. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was in a hospital. I looked to my right and saw my mom on the couch sound asleep, dark circles around her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in days or had been crying for hours on end. I grabbed a mirror that was laying on the night stand next to me and brought it up in front of my neck. All I saw was failure written all over it. I failed trying to access a state of peace and silence, I failed at ridding myself from this cruel, cruel world that had nothing to offer me. I looked back at my mom, but to my surprise she was already sitting next to me in a chair pulled up to my bed. I looked into her eyes and they were streaming with tears. Her eyes were filled with shame and guilt, but for once, they weren't meant for me, they were meant for her. She felt guilty and was full of shame and that was enough to bring me to tears. For the first time, I saw a mother in worry, Finally I saw my mother, not a person who I had come to acknowledge in the past years as the person who fed me, clothed me, put a roof over my head, a person who wasn't my mother, because my mother would love me unconditionally.

"T-Tegan...I-I'm _so_ sorry." More tears fall from her eyes and new ones quickly replace the old ones.

"Why?" I ask, not knowing why she's sorry, is she sorry to see me hurt, or sorry that I didn't finish the job?

"I've let you down in the worst ways a mother can. I stopped being there for you, I stopped talking to you, I stopped caring for you. If I had come to accept you for who you are, this would've never happened. I know my apology doesn't seem like much, but Tegan, in the end you are still my daughter, and I am your mother, someone who should love you no matter what. I wasn't there for you then, but I'm here for you now. I'm sorry I didn't pay attention to your pain and suffering, and don't worry, you have my full attention now. I don't care who you are or what you do because Tegan I love you, and your health and safety are what matter to me most right now. I know if your father were here right now...he'd be proud of the person you've become, he'd be beaming with joy at how brave you were through all of this." She looks like a mess, tears soaking the collar of her shirt. She takes my hands and holds them gently in hers. She offers me a weak smile, and I can't help but start my own water works. The thought of dad being proud of me...it struck a nerve deep inside of me that reawakened all of my senses. I could feel my wall, the wall that had been brought down brick by brick by all the bullies, slowly start to repair itself with new bricks, ones that weren't heavy at all.

That was all I needed. For one person to reach out to me and tell me that they loved me, they loved every piece of me. I didn't care if I had to go to school the next day, I would face all the bullies with a smile, because I knew that I had someone waiting to hug me when I got home.

"QUIN GET YOUR ASS UP!" I hear someone shout, pulling me away from my thoughts. They sounded a lot like Ted, so I look to my right and see a blanket neatly folded on the cot, but nobody resting their body atop it. The bugle has finally stopped playing the horrendous assembly call, but now I hear people snickering and giggling. I get up off my cot and bend down to put on my sneakers. I tie them up, tucking the extra lace into the sneaker, making sure that it doesn't fall out. I pat down my hair and straighten out my blue shirt. I release the wedgie in my black shorts and walk out out of the tent into the daylight.

**Sara POV**

We all stare at Tegan as she heads out of her tent. Her blue shirt is fitting on her body, accentuating it well, her black basketball shorts fall just above her knees and her hair falls down to her shoulders, curling at the ends. She's a beautiful sight to witness, especially in the mornings when her hair is somewhat fluffy and her face looks tired.

"What the hell was that bugle for?" She asks, clearly annoyed by the sound that it makes, but who can blame Emy and her poor bugle-playing skills?

"Well, we live in the wild, might as well live it to the fullest." Emy responds with a smirk on her face.

"Won't the sound attract walkers?"

"Naaaa, only gunshots." she replies with a smile on her face.

It's soon off when Lindsey arrives with the stuff that we asked for. In the beginning I felt like there was some tension between me and Lindsey, but I feel like everything's fine for now. I know she's Tegan's girlfriend, and I have to admit I have a small attraction towards Tegan, but I'm not the kind of person that would go after someone else that's already committed. I look back at Emy and see that's she's eyeing the ground, trying so hard not to glance up at Lindsey. I've known Emy long enough to know that she has a tiny crush on her, it's so obvious that it gives me giggles.

"Emy, could you lend me a hand? Well more like two." Lindsey asks her and she happily responds.

"Yeah sure, um...Sara where do you want us to put this stuff?" Emy asks me, trying to avoid starting a conversation with Lindsey.

"Oh...um, set it down in the trunk, we'll leave in about 10 minutes. Oh, have you told John and Jasper?"

"Yeah a couple minutes ago. They said they would meet us down in five."

"Is Stacy coming this time, or just Johnny?"

"Nope, just Johnny, Stacy is gonna help with the kids."

Tegan stares at us in confusion. _Of course, she just woke up, she has no idea about today's plans._

"Oh, Tegan I have to fill you in on what we're doing today. Walk with me?" Lindsey gives me a nasty glare, but I shrug it off. If she were my girlfriend, I probably would've dumped her already, she's the jealous type alright. She follows Emy to the trunk of the car while me and Tegan head to the medicine tent to go get Johnny. I pull my hands behind my back and turn to look at Tegan, but I forget what I was about to say. Her beauty leaves my mouth hanging open, no words coming out of the tiny hole. I quickly recover and look forward, avoiding her gaze and any other distractions.

"Well today, we're going to go out and do a normal run, which consists of gathering more supplies for the camp. We usually head out to the nearest grocery store and clothing store, but I've been noticing that they're getting short on supplies, so today I thought we would give the mall a try." She looks at me and nods in understanding, but I still look ahead.

"We usually bring John, Jasper, Johnny and Stacy, but this time Stacy won't be tagging along. I assume you've already met them?" This time I have to look at her to see her response. I'm met with hazel orbs, only focusing on my face, giving me her full attention. I'm starting to become nervous, so I try to clear my throat, but it doesn't help. We continue walking up the hill, getting closer to the medicine tent.

"The trip usually takes two days and we take food, water, some blankets, extra clothes, flashlights, matches, guns, knifes, whatever we deem necessary and helpful to us. We usually take the cop car and the black suburban, but Bruce took the cop car, so we'll be taking the white van instead. So I just have to ask you," I stop walking and turn to face her, "do you wanna join us in your first run?" I ask, my voice filled with hope.

"Yeah, sure, whatever I can do to help." She smiles at me and I smile back. She has such an adorable gummy smile...although I can't let my thoughts linger too far away. I turn on my heels, but the heels of my shoes scrape against a rock causing me to fall forward. Tegan catches me, placing both of her hands on my hips, turning me and pulling me towards her. Our hips meet, smashing into each other and I almost let out a moan. I put my hands up between us, resting them on her shoulders. I try to push her away, but something tells me not to. Our faces are inches apart, and it is only at this proximity that I can see all of her wonderful features. Her tiny scars, the little baby hairs growing at her forehead, her eyebrows, her hazel eyes. Everything about her is perfect. From her cute button nose, to her labret. Her mouth twitches, making it move, and my heart can't help but flutter at the sight. Everything she does is so adorable. My heart starts to race as I stop thinking about her features and start to focus on the situation at hand. I start to panic when I see her leaning in, centimeters away from my face. Automatically I start to lean in too, desperately wanting to feel her lips against mine. _No Sara, you're not that kind of person. _That thought gives me enough motivation to pull away, already feeling a sudden emptiness hitting me in the pits of my stomach.

"We should get Johnny and get going. Those supplies aren't going to get themselves." I chuckle. I can feel my cheeks growing red and I look at Tegan's face, hers mimicking mine.

"Yeah wouldn't want to go hungry." She gives me a weak smile, and I can't help but give her a full smile. She smiles even bigger, which makes me happy. We continue to walk towards the tent. I stop at the flap and call out for him.

"Knock, knock!"

"Who's there?"

"Sara!"

"Sara who?"

"Ok, lets just stop right there Johnny." I say laughing.

"Are you ready?" I ask him, anxious to get started on our weekly run.

"Yeah let me just say goodbye to the kids." If there was anything that Johnny loved more than being a doctor, it was his kids, Perseus and Olivia.

"Alright, Daddy has to go now, but he'll be back soon. Okay?" They both nod in understanding. I can hear Tegan giggling at the cute sight from behind me. I nudge her in the stomach, and she stops giggling.

"Alright, let's go!" Johnny says, waiting for me to lead the way out.

"See ya later Percy and Ollie!" I yell out. We walk back in silence and head to the cars. All three of us get in the Suburban, while Emy, Jasper, and John are in the van.

"Lindsey and Ted aren't coming?" Tegan asks me, and I can hear a hint of worry in her voice.

"No, Lindsey has to stay because of her wound, and Ted's staying to keep her company." I respond. She nods in understanding and Johnny pulls out onto the dirt road.


	10. Chapter 10

**Emy POV**

"LIFE IS A HIGHWAY, I WANNA RIDE-"

"JOHN, JASPER, could you tone it down a bit?" I ask as politely as I can without wanting to strangle both their throats. They've been driving me UP THE WALL for the past thirty minutes singing whatever road-trip appropriate song pops into their heads. We've been following Johnny through the streets, since the highway is filled with empty cars. Occasionally we'll stop and search some of them to see if we can find anything of value, and luckily we do. Mostly money, food, water, toys, blankets, batteries, radios, and gasoline that's stored in the trunk. Right now, we're about five miles away from the city, but I have no idea which mall we're heading to; Sara never told me and there are like five different malls scattered throughout downtown.

Downtown is a pretty tricky place to navigate through, since at every stop light there are three streets to choose from, each heading towards a different destination. The entrance to downtown has been completely sealed off by a huge fence that was put in place by the military, to keep walkers in and people out, but that idea failed once the situation got out of hand and the walkers broke free from their holding area. Now it's littered with tanks, guns, medical supplies, food, tents, and barricades; every survivor's dream, but you would never be able to inhabit downtown because of the hundreds of walkers that roam there.

I look through the windshield at the van in front of us and realize that it's slowly going out of view. I feel the car slowly come to a sudden stop.

"What?! No, no, no, no, no!" I get out of the car and run as fast as my legs will take me after the van. I'm waving my arms frantically, yelling out for them, but it's useless when they're going at sixty miles per hour. I turn around and run back towards the car. I slump down and rest my agitated body against the steel exterior. _Damn! I forgot to fuel up before we made the errand! _I run my fingers through my hair, tugging once I reach their ends.

"John! Jasper! Get our things, we're going after them!" I yell, knowing that they know to just follow my orders without any questions. After doing a few runs with me, they know not to ask too many questions when I'm angry or frustrated. I dust myself off and heads towards the back of the trunk. I pop it open and grab all of our bags containing our weapons and blankets. I look at us and we each have one bag slung on our shoulders. I reach up and close the door, hard, angry at myself.

"Ugh, how could I have been SO STUPID!" I yell, kicking the back tire with my right foot. I can immediately feel it start to become numb, but I don't care. I've never been so reckless in my life! I know that these runs are important. You never know if you're going to be separated, or worse, attacked by a human or a zombie. Johnny should've noticed by now that we're not following him...or what if he doesn't notice until they get to the mall? This is too much for one person to handle.

"E-Emy, don't you think we should try and catch up with them?"John asks, tip toeing around the bubble I've enclosed myself in.

"You know what...how come YOU didn't fill up the tank? Huh?" My finger is drilling into his chest, causing him to lean back a bit. He staggers backwards, not knowing how to reply, but making sure not to say something that'll fuel my rage. I can see fear flood into his eyes; my self-inflicting blame already leaving my system.

"Whoah, Emy take it down a notch, okay? No one is to blame here, it was just a simple mistake, no big deal." Jasper intervenes, putting his hands in front of my shoulder blades.

"No big deal? NO BIG DEAL?! Jasper, we're in the middle of a fucking meadow! Johnny and Sara have almost all of the weapons! We're out of gas, probably SURROUNDED by walkers, and, and, we don't even know where the others are headed! We're four miles away from the city, it's gonna take us about forty minutes to get there! So, NO, this isn't a big deal." I cross my arms in front my chest and face away from them, hoping my actions will get my point across.

"Well then we might as well get going." Jasper says in an annoyed voice, but trying so hard to keep his cool. John tugs on his bag, securing it tightly over his shoulder. He walks past me, heading down the lonely road, kicking pebbles out of his way. His body mimics the figure of a puppy kicked to the curb.

"John, I-" He puts up his hand, silencing me, not turning his body to face me.

"It's okay, I get it. You were mad. No big deal." He says coldly, trying to spare my feelings.

"No it's not okay, I shou-" I stop midway when I feel I hand on my shoulder. I look back to see Jasper slowly nodding a 'no'. I retreat my apology and all three of us continue walking down the road in silence.

Five minutes later, John breaks up the tension and speaks up.

"You know, I think I may know why you went all out on us." He says with a smirk. I'm afraid of his response, but I feel compelled to ask why.

"Oh really? What's your explanation?"

"Oh this is gonna be interesting." Jasper interjects, looking at us with a face of amusement.

"I think it's just all the hormones in your system."John says with a smirk, looking out into the distance and back at me. He's obviously amused by where this conversation is headed, but I'm not totally on board.

"What do ya mean, 'all the hormones in my system'?" I look at him with a confused look on my face, while Jasper is having a giggle fit to my right.

"Emy and Lindsey, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Jasper starts to sing, but before he finishes, I cover his mouth with my hand, muffling the words.

"What?! No! That is SO not true!" I say, half laughing, and half horrified.

"U-um, Lindsey, I-I think I like you." John says, in his best impersonation of me.

"HAHA!" Jasper laughs, stopping to bend over and slap his knee caps. Honestly, they can be so childish sometimes!

"You act like such a 13 year old boy around her..." Jasper can't continue his sentence, he's too amused by my silence, interpreting it as a confirmation to everything they've said. We walk the rest of the way in comfortable silence, my mind flooded with thoughts of Lindsey.

Sara POV

"Damn! They're coming in from every angle! Make a right Johnny! To the right!" He does as I tell him, the van almost tipping on its side due to the sharp turn onto Main Street. I take my aim and shoot, letting the gun shot ring through the empty streets. Another goes down, its brain matter spraying the sidewalk. Another walker approaches the car and stops in front of it, unaware that we're about to run into him. Johnny runs him over and we hear a loud _thud_ as he tumbles off the hood.

"Where did they go?! Weren't they following us?!"

"I don't know, maybe they took a shortcut?" I respond to Johnny's question. I know it's a stupid answer, but I'm hoping they did; at least they wouldn't be that far away if they did. Tegan shoots a walker down with a gummy smile on her face.

"What are you smiling for?" I ask her half annoyed that she finds the situation funny, while the other half of me is staring at her in adoration. She has the most amazing smile I've ever seen; celebrities got nothing on her.

"Nothing…all this just seems so exciting. I've only done these kinds of things in video games, and I was kind of horrified, but I don't know…this kind of life seems almost…exciting in a way you know?" She looks at me with weak smile, not sure if what she's just said is the right thing to say. There are hundreds of things I could tell her right now that would prove otherwise. Our lives are literally fucked up. We no longer have running water, much less hot water. There's still electricity, but who knows how long that'll last. We have to live the rest of our lives in fear because we don't know what's out there, and we don't know if we'll have weapons to defend ourselves in the future. Families have literally been torn apart (mostly by the zombies) and good luck if you're pregnant and a survivor, I mean that would be extremely hard, but having a kid is totally worth it, sure not in this period of time. I could tell her all of these things, but I don't want to wipe her smile off. She looks so excited by the idea that she's killing zombies left and right, and I don't want to take away her excitement, I mean who knows if she'll ever experience the kind of giddiness that she's experiencing right now? How can you in this world? Let her be giddy, for what's probably the only time she'll feel giddy for the rest of her life.

"We're such bad asses." I tell her with a smirk. She smiles at my joking around and turns around to continue shooting down walkers.

"Sara are we almost there?" Johnny asks, frantically weaving in and out of the crowded streets at high speeds.

"Yeah, we're probab-JOHNNY LOOK OUT!" _CRASH!_ I see someone fly out of their seat, while I double over in pain and see Johnny struggling to get the door unlocked. When it doesn't budge, he kicks it as hard as he can, wincing in pain. The door falls to the ground, and he gets up, coming over to my door and opening it. He clutches his ribs in pain and walks over to Tegan's door. I get up from my seat in the back of the car and head over in Johnny's direction.

"Sara, Tegan's not in here!" He sounds frantic and turns his head in all directions desperately looking for Tegan's body. We spot her about ten feet from the car, near the military tank that we crashed into. _Oh my God she's dead. No wait, her chest just moved. Thank God!_

"Tegan!" I run frantically to her side as I see a walker moving towards her. I stop my running and start to calmly walk in her direction, my gun in front of my face, aimed and ready to fire. Down goes one walker, I quickly look to my left and take down another, then another, and then another. I walk past Tegan's body and stop near her head. I shoot down another walker.

"JOHNNY! She's over here, hurry up!" I yell, but not looking in his direction.

"Tegan, open your eyes, talk to me, move your face, something!" I can hear Johnny say to Tegan.

"Oh thank God…okay, Tegan tell me what hurts."

"I can barely feel my right leg. My arm, it hurts so much."

"Okay, I'm just going to roll up your jeans and check your leg." I hear the rustling of clothes, but I can't look back, these walkers are coming from every crook on the sidewalk.

"Tegan, your leg is…well, it's broken, but I don't want you to look at it."

"What why?"

"Because…just don't look at it."

"Umm…okay?" I steal a glance behind me, and quickly look away. Tegan's bone was literally jutting out of her skin. It had snapped in half…how could she not feel that? Suddenly, I hear thunder…_wait what? It's not raining…_I look back, fear taking over.

"J-Johnny! Grab Tegan, we need to go!"

"What? Why?"

"We need to go NOW!" He looks back at the hundreds of zombies turning the corner onto the street that we're on.

"Sara, get Tegan inside the tank! I'm gonna go back for the medical supplies!" He shouts, and no later is Tegan's body limp in my arms. I shove us both under the tank and open the hatch. I manage to help Tegan get in first, soon followed by me. Johnny's face appears through the hole and he quickly climbs in, throwing the heavy medic bag in first.

"What do we do now?"

**Bruce POV**

"Are you sure? You're guaranteeing us all of the weapons?"

"Yes…all of them." I respond. They're playing right into my little trap. In a couple of days, we're gonna be storming into the useless camp…finally getting my revenge.

"What do we have to do again? I wanna make sure we do this right the first time."

"All you have to do is drive where I tell you to drive, and attack. Take all the women. Kill all the men. Leave the children. Take all the supplies you want. All you're doing is helping me…I keep three of the women…the rest are yours to keep." My patience is wearing thin with these dumb fucks, honestly why couldn't I hire a smarter group. The boss sits there stroking his chin, contemplating his decision.

"All right…deal." He extends his hand to shake mine, but I deny it.

"Deal…but just know that I'm in charge of the whole operation."

"Alright, fine with us." He leans back into his chair and looks at his fellow men. They all nod in agreement. It's only a matter of time.


End file.
